


Great Expectations in Westeros

by DK65



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, great expectations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 10:53:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7168166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DK65/pseuds/DK65
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jon and Sansa meet as children when he is invited by her aunt Lysa to visit Harrenhal as her playmate. Their paths diverge soon afterwards; they meet many years later, at a tourney... and then Jon's fortune takes a turn for the better, or so it seems...</p>
<p>These characters belong to GRRM. The story belongs to Charles Dickens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Great Expectations in Westeros

His father had died many years ago, or so his mother said, in the Battle of the Trident. Mother had been busy giving birth to him then; how she had survived, she herself could not say. And then she'd married his stepfather, the blacksmith, and come to the Riverlands, where Papa sharpened swords and made horseshoes, and mother kept an inn. 

He played with the children in the village; mother taught him his letters and sums when she had time from her house-work and innkeeping. And then, the lady at the haunted house sent the maester to their inn at the Crossroads, because she wanted someone to come play with her niece, who was a little lady some three years younger than Jon.

Mother was pleased, Jon could tell; he did not know why this was so. He was happy enough playing with Masha Heddle's grand-children--Masha helped his mother with the cooking and the cleaning at the inn. Why couldn't the little lady come to the forge, he asked his mother, and play with him and the Heddle girls? His mother smiled and said that it was because she was a lady; lords and ladies did not mix with smallfolk. The Lady of Harrenhal (whose mother, a Whent, had married the late lord of the Riverlands, a Tully) was doing him a kindness by asking him to play with her niece. Mayhaps, it would lead to a place at the hall as a page or squire; he would then be able to train to be a knight, as his mother had wished.

So Jon went off sulkily to play with the little girl, whom he was determined not to like better than the Heddle girls. But she was much prettier, with her auburn hair and large blue eyes, than Jeyne and Willow. And she was so very proper and lady-like. He could not play at hide and seek or catch or maidens and monsters with her; it was always games of cards and come into my castle. And she was so very proud of being a Stark, even though her father (so it was said) had been a rebel against the Targaryen king and sent into exile in Essos with his wife. Her mother had been the older sister of the Lady in Harrenhal, and had died giving birth to this little lady--that's what the gossips in the Riverland said. And when her father joined a company of mercenaries, he sent her to her aunt, accompanied by her nurse. 

It was some years after this (after mother had died of a fever, after Sansa Stark had gone to Highgarden to learn to be a lady, although Jon did not think she needed any lessons in that direction) that a maester came to the inn, saying that Jon had been left an inheritance by his uncle and was to learn to be a squire and rise to knighthood. His stepfather was reluctant to send him, but Jon was eager to go. Somehow, the Riverlands were not the same without Sansa. And the Lady of Harrenhal had refused to see him when he had gone there to ask about her. So he was glad to go to Lord Tarly's and learn to wield weapons, such as the sword and the spear and the morningstar, while Lord Tarly's eldest son tried to improve his letters and reading.

And then, there was a tourney at Highgarden, to which the Tarlys and their bannermen were invited. It was truly grand, with every house south of the Neck (including the Tullys and Arryns) participating. That's when he saw her, sitting with Lady Margaery, daughter of Lord Tarly's liege lord, Mace Tyrell. She was, Samwell Tarly said, as good as married to the eldest Tyrell boy, who would thus inherit not only her aunt's seat at Harrenhal upon that lady's death, but also her ancestral lands of Winterfell, which her father had lost because of his rebellion against the crown. Jon tried not to think about this as he broke lances against the other squires and knights competing in the tourney.

They met that night, at the feast. Jon had done well, and she congratulated him on it. He soon realised that he was the envy of the other lords and knights, for she treated him with familiarity, even affection, while treating the rest of them--Tyrion Lannister, Harry Harrdying, Ned Dayne and Quentyn Martell--with cold courtesy. She danced with him often, while merely smiling at the others. The next night, she granted each of them (other than Tyrion Lannister) only one dance, while she danced thrice with him.

He thought her attentions to him meant something, but she soon shattered his illusions. She had no other choice, she told him, but to wed Willas Tyrell. Her father had rebelled against his king; he had fought in the battle in which the crown prince (and the rebellious stag lord her father supported) was killed. It was true that he had fought to avenge the deaths of a father and a brother unjustly killed, and a sister taken from them all against her will, but still... And then, if she did wed the Tyrell heir, she could go home to Winterfell. Her Tully uncle might regain his rightful inheritance, the castle and lands of Riverrun. And so she carried on speaking and he stared at her, unable to stop her words from stabbing him in the heart.

He was shaken out of his stupor when he returned to Hunter's Hill with the Tarlys. Samwell, of course, had done nothing of note and had been duly scolded by Lord Randyll, who had threatened to send him to the Night's Watch. Dickon, on the other hand, had done the family proud; Jon knew that Lord Tarly wished Samwell were more like his younger brother. So when the messenger came and asked to speak to Lord Tarly and "err... Jon Snow?" that Jon accompanied his lordship and the messenger into my lord's solar.

There, the messenger finally explained his business. He had come from King's Landing, he said. As they knew, the king had been ailing many years; his illness had worsened with the death of his eldest son, when his former Hand, Lord Tywin Lannister, had made himself regent on his behalf. He had finally died. However, the messenger said, he had left the kingdom without an heir to succeed him; his grandson, Aegon, had died while still a babe, as had his grand-daughter, Rhaenys, when she was a girl of three. As for Viserys, his younger son, he had inherited the Targaryen madness and could not succeed. The only one left was the child born to Crown Prince Rhaegar's second wife, who had been a lady from the north, the daughter of Rickard Stark, whom the prince had carried off without the consent of her father or brothers. And then the messenger looked at Jon.

"You have the Stark look," he said.

"What of it?" Jon asked.

"I went to the inn where your mother and stepfather lived, and asked about you. They say you look much like your mother. Your stepfather... well, I recognized him. He was once a knight of the Kingsguard, a very famous swordsman. How he came to be a blacksmith, and in the Riverlands, when he should by rights have been in Dorne...! But he says you are the heir, and I am to take you to King's Landing, Your Grace, and see you crowned."

To say that Jon was startled out of his wits would be no small thing--he had not expected such a great change in his circumstances. The best he could hope for was to be knighted by Lord Tarly and serve in his household. He did not know how to react when Lord Tarly and both his sons knelt and acknowledged him as their liege lord.

He had only a few things to pack before his journey, whereas the Tarlys took some time to prepare. However, Lord Tarly refused to let him go alone with the messenger, saying that he, as His Grace's foster parent (for so he styled himself) must accompany him to the capital. Samwell explained how matters stood with regard to the kingdom to Jon as they walked in his mother's flower garden.

"You see, Jon," said he, "the King has not been seen since his heir died and Robert's Rebellion was crushed. When Robert and your father clashed in the Riverlands and killed each other, Lord Tywin rushed to King's Landing, his army at his back. Lord Arryn, who was foster parent to both Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark, your uncle, was badly wounded, as was Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun. Lord Stark was hard put to it to keep their forces in order while retreating. No one--not my father, nor the Tyrells--know what happened when the Lannisters entered King's Landing. Suffice it to say that it was they who found the baby prince and princess killed and Princess Elia raped and murdered. It was whispered abroad that Aerys had gone mad and ordered this done. It was also said that Master Pycelle had urged him to open the gates to the Lannisters. And then, they went to Dragonstone. The queen was in childbed, where they say she and the child she bore both died. The young prince Viserys was brought back to the capital. But he was seldom seen abroad; it was said the king could barely let him out of his sight. Of course, the Baratheons surrendered Storm's End to the Tyrells; Lord Stannis, and Ned Stark, his wife and his infant son, were exiled to Essos. His younger brother, Benjen, a lad of four-and-ten, was sent to the Wall, as was Lord Brynden Tully. It was fortunate for the Lords Arryn and Tully that they died of their wounds, else they would have most likely been executed. Lord Renly was sent to Casterly Rock, to be raised there, as were Lords Edmure Tully and young Harry Harrdying, then still a babe in arms. As for Lady Lysa, she would have been sent to the silent sisters, if her great-aunt had not offered her a home in Harrenhal. Lord Tywin has ruled the realm since that time."

Jon had never, in all his life, thought about who ruled him and why. He had been content, as a boy in the Riverlands, to live the simple life with his parents, for so he thought of his mother and stepfather. He now asked Lord Tarly if he could request his stepfather to come to Hunter's Hill and accompany them to the capital. Lord Tarly was delighted at this suggestion and immediately sent Hyle Hunt, one of his household knights, to ride swiftly to the Riverlands and bring Arthur Dayne (for that was Jon's stepfather) to come with them to the capital. Hyle consented with ill grace, despite his lord's stern looks; he was not too delighted at this change of fortune in Jon's life.

When they set off for the capital, Jon was startled to note that none of the Tarly women accompanied them. Dickon was left to manage the castle in his father's absence; Samwell rode along, as best as he was able. Lord Tarly insisted that Samwell should share Jon's tent, and Jon agreed at once. Samwell had been of great help to him in the past, and Jon hoped that, as King, he would be able to grant Samwell his heart's desire--a place in Oldtown to accquire the learning that would equip him to be a maester. He also hoped that someday Sam would come to the capital as his Grand Maester. Although he was determined to treat the Lannisters with the utmost courtesy, he was also determined to be on his guard. He now began to wonder which of his uncles had sent Lord Tarly the money for his fosterage. Was it his uncle Ned, who had, along with his wife and son, died in Essos, leaving Sansa to inherit Winterfell? It could certainly not be Benjen, who was now a Ranger of the Night's Watch, or so Lord Tarly said.

The weather was good, and Lord Tarly's party was soon accompanied by many more lords and knights from the Reach, including the Tyrells, the Rowans, the Redwynes and the Oakhearts. Jon was delighted to see Sansa riding alongside Margaery Tyrell; he was even more delighted to learn that she was yet to wed Willas. The revelation of his existence had convinced the Tyrells to stay their hand with regard to Sansa's marriage to their heir, so she told him at supper when they made camp on the road. "They want to be certain they get Winterfell AND Harrenhal, not just Harrenhal," she told him with a cold smile.

"What does that mean?" he asked her, puzzled.

She sighed. "Really Jon, how can you be such a fool? Don't you understand, my rights as heir to Winterfell are almost non-existent if you, as a male descendent of my grandfather, even in the female line, are living? You will have to know all this, you know, as King. Don't rely on the Lannisters or the Tarlys--they will all be out to get what they can of you, now that you will be King."

"But what would I do with Winterfell, if I am to be King? I cannot be Lord of Winterfell and the North and King of the Seven Kingdoms, can I? You will be Lady of Winterfell if I am King, you can assure the Tyrells of that."

"That is just what I will not do," she said quite firmly. "I have nothing against Willas; he is a nice boy, but I feel as if I am being pushed into this marriage, like a cow into a corral. It would be nice to be the cousin of the King and flirt with all the handsome men in the kingdom before I marry and go to live at Harrenhal. And yes, you should know this; you will be expected to wed either Margaery (why do you think she's coming with us, silly?) or one of Lord Tywin's nieces. I would suggest you marry Margaery; you must keep the Lannisters in check."

They eventually reached the capital, which was decked out with Lannister and Targaryen banners. Lord Tywin was there at the gate of the city to greet him, along with Ser Jaime Lannister, both men clad in crimson and gold armour. While Lord Tywin's cloak of crimson and gold was embroidered with a roaring lion, Jaime Lannister's cloak was of purest white. They both knelt and swore their allegiance. And then Arthur Dayne rode up, just as the Lannisters rose, and bowed to his stepson. Jon raised him up at once and embraced him; he was so glad to see a familiar face. Thus they rode into the capital together.

Lord Tywin had prepared a lavish feast for his prospective monarch, to welcome him into his inheritance. Much rich food was eaten; much wine and ale and beer was drunk; many fulsome speeches were made, pledging loyalty and love to their dear king. Finally, Jon was led to his bedchamber, where he prepared to sleep off the wine he had drunk and the exhaustion of his journey. However, that was not to be. For as he laid his head on the pillow, he heard the crunch of paper under it. He lifted the pillow to find a piece of paper, reading "Go to the gods wood, to the heart tree there, to meet with a friend." He frowned and wondered who could be writing to him thus. But he arose and dressed in his darkest clothes, without waking Samwell, who lay snoring in the other bed in his chamber. And he opened the door, thinking he would find a guard posted there, either by Lord Tarly or Lord Lannister. The only person standing guard was Arthur Dayne.

"Papa," Jon whispered, "I was never so glad to see you." And he showed him the letter. Arthur read it, and said, "I will come with you." And so he showed his son to the heart tree in the midst of the gods wood. They walked quietly, staying in the shadows, until they entered the wood.

It was when they reached the heart tree that they saw the men. One was bald-headed, but dressed in drapes of lavender, and wafted the same perfume as he moved. The other was red of hair and beard and bore the device of a griffin on his cloak. They both knelt when they saw Jon and greeted Dayne with respect. Then the bald-headed man began to speak.

"Your Grace, you are in grave danger here, from Lord Tywin's plots. You do not know this, of course, but his son Jaime slew your grandfather. And when Lord Tywin entered the city, he sent Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch to murder your stepmother and your half-brother and half-sister. Of course, he said Aerys had done it, in his madness, after Rhaegar died. I understand that when Lord Tywin took Dragonstone, he had the queen and her daughter killed before the very eyes of the young prince, your uncle, who lost his wits when he saw this. They also killed all the servants and Ser Willem Darry, the master-of-arms there. Viserys is a prisoner somewhere in the Red Keep; he is not seen abroad. He might well be dead; we do not know." 

Jon listened in horror, almost refusing to believe the evidence of his ears. Why would the Lannisters kill his father's family? Surely, the bald man was mistaken. But both Arthur and the red-headed man nodded; this was not news to them.

"We feared as much," Arthur said, "which is why your mother never spoke of your father. Neither did I, even though we both longed to talk to you of him. But you were only a child--Lyanna wanted you to be carefree..."

"What must I do?" he asked, in a whisper.

"I have brought the Golden Company with me," the red-headed man said. "They will fight for you against the Lannisters. And you have the Reach on your side, if you agree to let your cousin wed the Tyrell heir and give her Winterfell. You can strengthen the alliance with the Reach by wedding the Tyrell girl. Or you can marry the Dornish princess; she is her father's heir."  
He fell silent, looking at Jon critically. Jon turned to the bald-headed man and asked, "Why... why did you decide to tell me of this? What is your interest in the matter?" His conversations with Sansa on the Roseroad had made him realise that, as King, he could not afford to think that each man was as he seemed to be.

The bald man smiled. "I am Varys--I was your grandfather's Master of Whispers. I asked him not to open the gates to Lord Tywin's army; I even asked your stepmother to let me take the little prince, your half-brother, to safety. Neither of them took my counsel. You now know what became of them. If you refuse to heed what I say... "

The red-headed man spoke. "I am Jon Connington," he said. "I was Hand to your grandfather, and your father's friend. I was dismissed after the Battle of the Bells." He fell silent, then spoke again. "I was sent into exile--I could not fight at your father's side when he met Robert, his cousin, and your uncle Ned Stark on the Trident. I was with the Golden Company."

"As to why we have contacted you now... I have had word. You must know, my lord, that Lord Tywin has a younger son, Tyrion by name. Perhaps you have met him? Of course you have; he was at the Highgarden tourney, was he not? He accompanied the Tully heir there, didn't he? Well, he has heard of his father's plot to kill you before you are crowned. Perhaps a few drops of sweetsleep in your wine or some such? But die you will, so that Lord Tywin's eldest son can take the throne. Tywin thinks to persuade him to give up the white cloak and wed either the Stark or Martell heiresses--or both, who knows? Tyrion knows Jaime will not do as his father wants. He met you at the tourney and liked you. He thinks you will be a good king. And he wants to stop his father's dastardly plot. Is that enough, my liege?"

Jon looked at his stepfather out of the corner of his eye, and saw him nod imperceptibly. 

"It is more than enough," he said heavily. "One other thing," he looked at Jon Connington and Varys as he spoke. "Who sent the money through the maester to pay for my fosterage and training at Lord Tarly's? I was told it was my uncle. Was it Ned Stark who sent..."

"No," said Varys smoothly, "it was I. I had learnt of your father's most imprudent marriage. It took me some time to find you and your mother--I was certain you were both in Dorne." He looked at Arthur as he spoke. "Ned Stark was dead, by then; he had joined the Second Sons. His heir died of fever in Essos, and his wife died in childbed. He left what little he had to his daughter on his deathbed. I felt you should be prepared, be ready to take your place, when Tywin finally decided to announce Aerys' death. Viserys, I am sorry to say, was never of a strong mind; you are made of different mettle. Shall we go now?"  
It was the next day, when Jon was seated in council with Lord Tywin and Lord Mace and Lord Randyll that Ser Jaime Lannister came in hastily to whisper into his father's ear. Jon immediately demanded to know what was afoot. Ser Jaime replied, "A great number of ships are sailing up the Blackwater. They carry no flags, but I have seen great numbers of men at arms on the decks."

"Well," said Jon patiently, " why do we not assemble our knights and men at arms, see where these ships make landfall and send a messenger to them, asking what and why they invade Westeros?"

Lord Tywin frowned, steepling his fingers. "This might well be the Golden Company," he said to the room at large. "I have heard they are active--they had given up a contract they signed with Lys to fight against Myr in the Disputed Lands. Now that Your Grace's grandfather is dead, they hope to make trouble in Westeros."

"Perhaps not," Arthur Dayne remarked. "Surely, there are no more Blackfyres living? Perhaps they have come to make peace. I think we should do as the King suggest--gather and arm our men, send a messenger to meet the ships when they make landfall and question their captain." And so it was done. Jon Connington and Harry Strickland returned with the messenger; both fell at Jon's feet and swore their allegiance to him as their king. They also begged him to accept the allegiance of their men, to which Jon agreed with seeming reluctance. He could see that none of his great lords was pleased overmuch; they all felt they would be overshadowed by this new arrival.

That night, at Jon's insistence, they had another feast to welcome the Golden Company into the king's peace. Jon was determined to let Lord Tywin show his hand; as a new king, he could not afford to begin by executing a man the whole realm revered as a wise and prudent administrator, although strict and harsh in his judgement. He had felt his exhaustion catch up to him and thought of making that apparent at the feast. 

When Jon retired to his chambers, it was to find Grand Maester Pycelle there, with a goblet of milk and honey. He was to take it, the Grand Maester said, and get a good night's sleep. "Even kings," the Grand Maester said, "need to sleep after much exertion." Jon agreed to do as the man said, and watched him leave. He then asked Samwell to examine the drink; he could not help but recollect what Varys had said about sweetsleep. Samwell, who carried around all sorts of things he found useful (a trait his father often complained about) took a few drops of milk in a spoon and tasted it on the tip of his tongue.

"It's sweet," he said, "but it does not taste of honey. It's almost too sweet, if you know what I mean. Is there a cat hereabouts?" Jon looked out and posed this question to Arthur Dayne, who had again posted himself outside his bedroom.

"There should be," said Arthur. "Princess Rhaenys had a black cat called Balerion. I think I saw him somewhere. Let me go and look."

He came back, more than an hour later, with a scratch across his face but the cat, hissing and spitting, in his arms. Sam poured the milk out into a dish, and placed it before the cat, which would have fled. However, it was hungry and drank up all the milk. As soon as it did that, it fell flat on its back--asleep or poisoned, they could not tell. It lay still for some time; then Samwell bent down and placed his ear to the animal's chest. He looked up, white-faced. Its heart had stopped beating, he whispered.

Jon nodded at Arthur, who told Sam he would leave him to guard the King, and went out. Very soon, they heard the sounds of men rushing through the corridors, the clash of steel, the cries of the wounded. As they sat in his room listening to the sounds of conflict, Jon hoped that Sansa and Margaery were safe. He hoped Loras, Margaery's brother, was with them. 

Very soon, Arthur and Jon Connington entered his chamber, followed by Lords Tarly and Tyrell. Grand Maester Pycelle had confessed; he had put extra grains of sweetsleep into Jon's goblet of milk. Of course, he sought to exonerate Lord Tywin from his crime; he claimed to have acted without his knowledge. But the fact that Lord Tywin's men had already been armed and ready--some had even attacked Tyrell and Tarly men at arms--meant that mischief was afoot. 

And so, Lord Tywin was executed for planning to murder the king. Ser Jaime Lannister, whom the king could no longer trust, was sent to the Wall. Lord Tyrion was declared his father's heir and was to wed Lord Tarly's eldest daughter. Sansa was glad to see Jon alive; she congratulated him on his great escape, as he told her about the meeting with Varys and Jon Connington in the gods wood. 

"I think," she said thoughtfully as she nibbled at a biscuit daintily, "that you have learned how to be king. You should wed Margaery, you know; she will make an excellent queen. And you need the Tyrells on your side. You could wed Renly to the Martell girl--unite the Stormlands and Dorne? Or would you prefer to call Lord Stannis home if he swears allegiance to you?"

"What about you?" he asked her, his heart aching abominably. The mere thought of her marrying another man made him angry and ill. He could be king of Westeros but he could never have her, and this was intolerable to him.

"I will do as I have promised--wed Willas. We will leave Highgarden and go to live in the North. I know his father wants to give Highgarden to Garlan and Leonette. And Winterfell has hot springs; bathing there would help Willas' leg. Jon, surely you know that kings and lords do not wed for love? We wed for the good of our people and our kinfolk. My marriage to Willas will strengthen your ties with the Reach. You do understand that, do you not? I look at him and I thank the gods I am not wedding someone like Harry Harrdying. You do know, don't you, that he's fathered more than one child in Lannisport? Of course, they all blame Lord Tyrion's bad influence, but I think Harry should take the blame for his actions, don't you?"

Jon could not reply--perhaps she was right and he was wrong. Perhaps he should be glad to wed Margaery and let her wed Willas. Of course, if she were to go and live in the North, he might never see her again. He thought of all this as he let her talk, and felt he was the most wretched of men. He spoke of all this to Samwell and Arthur, both of whom listened to him patiently and tried to comfort him.


End file.
